Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a police officer was struck on Richmond and Wilson Aves. on Staten Island, there was a large fight on Franklin Ave. and Empire Blvd. in Brooklyn, and a double homicide on Furman Ave. and East 237th St. in the Bronx. The US Postal Service is expecting to process one billion individual pieces of mail today, three times the daily average. The busiest day of the year is expected to......

Does China make anything that isn't chock full of lead anymore? The US Product Safety Commission announced today that 43,000 Chinese-made fake teeth are being recalled because of very high levels of lead paint. The "Ugly Teeth" party favor retails for about two bucks and has been sold throughout the country since 2006. Consumers are asked to return the fake teeth to wherever they purchased them for a full refund. Lead paint ingestion is particularly......

Last month, much-to-do between Mayor Bloomberg and the state powers-that-be resulted in a kind of agreement that congestion pricing in NYC should be considered and studied (after months of Mayor Bloomberg campaigning for it). And today, the U.S. Department of Transportation is expected to announce its support of NYC's plan. The USDOT could give NYC as much as $350 million (though not the half billion number the Mayor and US DOT Secretary Mary Peters had......

Band of Horses at the Pool, Another Great Show It’s getting a bit repetitive. Every week it seems like we rave and rave about how impressive the Pool Party was. This week brought Band of Horses back to New York for a big free happy show, alongside last year's premiere blog buzz band, Annuals. While there were few complaints about last Sunday, Jelly's got themselves quite the tall order coming up this week. TV on......

"Some Time in New York City" was released in 1972 as John Lennon's third post-Beatles album (and his fifth with Yoko Ono). Critically and commercially the album didn't do well, especially compared to Lennon's previous albums. "Imagine" had just come out in the 1971, and comparatively this one was brash, loud and more reflective of his political and new geographical surroundings at the time, in Greenwich Village. As documented in The US vs John......

Twenty-nine workers died in construction accidents in New York during the 12 months ending September 30, marking a 61% increase over the previous year and a 5-year high, according to OSHA and the NYC Dept. of Buildings. Over half of the victims fell to their death, while falling material was the second most fatal cause. Non-union, immigrant workers employed by small contractors suffered worst. The Manhattan director for OSHA decried the lax safety enforcement......

Yesterday's decision by a federal judge to sentence controversial lawyer Lynne Stewart to 28 months in prison for charges in helping terrorist Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman carry out his message was met by relief from Stewart supporters and overwhelming outcry from the government (which had hoped for a 30 year sentence) and many of the local papers. The Post, Daily News and the Sun all have editorials criticizing Judge Koetl's short sentence. From the......

The US vs John Lennon hits theaters tomorrow (click link to view trailer). This will be one of those films we see within a week of it opening - even though it's sure to deliver more of what we've already seen in random clips and documentaries over the years. Since John Lennon and Yoko Ono documented much of their daily life, there is plenty of footage - and Lennon becomes the narrator of his......

On this relatively quiet Labor Day weekend, Senator Charles Schumer spoke out about problems at LaGuardia Airport. Basically, the tower is structurally damaged to the point where the Post ran this photo of tarps hanging to protect the equipment from leaks. And that's not all. From the Post:- Its ground-radar system - which prevents runway collisions - fails during downpours. - Structural cracks line the stairwell leading up to the tower cab. - The US......

- A PATH train overheated this morning at the World Trade Center stop and passengers had to be evacuated - it's no tram drama! - Maury Povich (and his production company) is sued by an employee who makes all sorts of claims from adultery to being forced to watch porn at work - and there's the dressing in low cut shirts - The US's amassador to the UN says the Russian diplomat who drove......

Catholics love hearing the words "special dispensation" and who doesn't loving hearing the word, "beef"? It all comes together tomorrow, as the Archdiocese of New York (and the surrounding areas, as well as other parts of the country) is allowing Catholics to eat beef on tomorrow. For all you non-Catholics, on Friday during Lent, plus Ash Wednesday, Catholics aren't allowed to eat meat (fish is okay - sorry fishmongers!). But this is special: The Archdiocese......

Yesterday, Billy Wagner, the new Mets closer announced that he was dropping out of the inaugural World Baseball Classic. CC Sabathia of the Cleveland Indians is also stepping aside, which is potentially a bigger problem for the United States than Wagner not playing. The US team now only has 3 starting pitchers - Jake Peavy, Dontrelle Willis and Roger Clemens - potentially a problem considering all the rules on the books. Lucky for the United......

After two weeks of winter sports competition, the 2006 Torino Games have officially come to a close. Winning the medal tally was Germany with 29 medals (11 gold, 12 silver, 6 bronze). Second was the United States, which had 25 (9, 9, 7), and Canada was third with 24 (7, 10, 7). The US total was its higest outside of the United States, where it had 34 in the 2002 Salt Lake City games.......

Were you a little late for work this morning because of a bus? If so, don’t feel bad; you have a lot in common with an Olympic athlete. Johnny Weir went from second in the Men’s Skating to fifth apparently because of a change in the bus schedule. Weir’s complaints ring especially hollow when you consider that Evan Lysacek spent the day in the infirmary receiving IV fluids to overcome the flu and managed to......

Major League Baseball announced the 60-man US World Baseball Classic roster yesterday with several players on the Mets and Yankees named as possible team members. The US list includes Johnny Damon, Derek Jeter, Al Leiter, and Alex Rodriguez. The Mets have Paul Lo Duca, Billy Wagner and David Wright on the US players listed. While the 60-person list is a list of players that can play in the tournament, the eventual roster must be trimmed......

It is the most watched sporting event in the world and while the US has participated the last four times, they are still viewed as novices in the sport the everyone else refers to as football. Friday was the drawing for the 2006 World Cup, which will be played in Germany, and if the US team does well this time around, they will eliminate any doubts about their soccer prowess. The US team will be......

This weekend seems to be all about the music. Outside, in parks, on rooftops. It'll be everywhere, and here is where we would be if we were you... The Music of Nick Drake will be played at the Central Park Summerstage featuring New York musicians Josh Max and Julie James, (plus some special guests) and an orchestra led by arranger Robert Kirby, who collaborated with Drake on many of his songs. [via FreeNYC] Saturday, July......

Every May the United States Tennis Center in Flushing resurfaces its courts. This year, they've taken it a step further, changing the color of the courts to blue from green. They say it will help the visibility for players, spectators and television viewers. Gothamist thinks blue inner courts surrounded by green outer courts make for a hideous combination. Only Boise State and its blue football field can get away with such a strange playing surface.......

It's like Kinsey meets Madison Avenue! Ad Age reports that ad agency BBDO has completed a survey that shows 14% of cell phone users have "stopped in the middle of a sex act to answer a ringing wireless device." For some country specific stats, the Germany and Spain led with 22% of those surveyed stopping sex to answer the cell, while only 7% Italy's cell phone users would answer. The US is slightly above average,......

The NYPD is being rocked by news that two former police officers were on the take from the mob, for their roles in eight murders. Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa were arrested in Las Vegas, where they moved after retiring from the NYPD, and charged with racketeering conspiracy, two attempted murders, obstruction of justice, money laundering and more. The US Attorney's office claims that Eppolito and Caracappa used their ties in the NYPD to smoke......

Yes, welcome back little boy, Christ child... NOAA has announced the return of the warm waters to the Eastern Pacific, though noting that this time, it's not as strong. "Weaker" is the decription that they use actually. The last El Niño, was in 1997-1998 when it seemed that everything and anything weatherwise was being blamed on the friggen thing. Rain? El Niño. Cold? El Niño. Warm? El Niño. Headache? El Niño. You've heard the......

Team USA roared into the semifinals of the Olympics today with a sound 102 - 95 victory over previously undefeated Spain. Team USA found their stroke from long range and nailed 12 of 22 attempts from three point land. For those counting at home, that's 55 percent. Gothamist Sport's whipping boy Stephon Marbury proved us wrong in a big way by dropping a US record 31 points on 10 of 15 shooting from the field,......

In yesterday's women's beach volleyball finals, the US pair of Kerri Walsh and Misty May won the gold easily, defeating a pair from Brazil, 21-17 and 21-11. During the Games, Walsh and May did not drop a single set to an opponent. The gold was the first by the American women since beach volleyball became a medal sport in 1996. The other American duo of Holly McPeak and Elaine Youngs, who were defeated by Walsh......

The US men's rowing team, once the dominant team in the Olympics, ended their 40 year winless streak in the Olympics Sunday with a victory in the finals of the men's eight. With a winning time of 5:42.48, the US boat led from the start. At one point during the race, the Americans led by so much that the stern of their boat was at the bow ball of their closest competitor. After the......

Look out world, Team USA might finally be "getting it". Team USA fought off an early 10 point deficit to take down Australia 89 - 79 yesterday in Men's Olympic basketball action. The vitcory pushed the American's record to 2 - 1 in round robin play. The US got big games from Allen Iverson (16 points in 23 minutes)and Tim Duncan and actually played some team defense for what seems like the first time in......

The oldest record in swimming fell last night, as the US women won the 800 meter freestyle relay. The old world record was set on August 18, 1987 by an East German team that may have been tainted. After the re-unification of Germany, it was revealed that there was rampant cheating and an emphasis on winning in East Germany. The US women - Natalie Coughlin, Carly Piper, Dana Vollmer and Kaitlin Sandeno - finished in......

The US Means Basketball team lost a stunner yesterday to the tiny island of Puerto Rico 92-73, dropping its all time Olympic basketball record to 109-3. It wasn’t the loss itself that was so shocking, never mind that Team USA had beaten Puerto Rico five times in exhibitions since July, it was the manner in which they lost. Puerto Rico held the lead for 33 of the game’s 40 minutes. Larry Brown simply got out-coached.......

Apparently Carmelo Anthony spoke too soon. The US Men's Olympic Basketball team was trounced earlier today by "European powerhouse" Italy. Just a week after Anthony, the youngest member of Team USA declared "We're guaranteeing a gold medal. We're bringing it back," the US suffered their worst exhibition loss since the NBA started sending players to the Olympics in 1992. Italy trounced the US 95-78 and the game wasn't as close as the score indicates.......

- Weather's effect on the 2004 butterfly census - Early July 4th weather predictions - Weather in Wired Magazine's Infoporn section - Walmart blames bad sales on the weather - The BBC's 30 year old weather art - How to set up your own XML weather feed - The US Postal Service and rain - Aerosols and the Hydrologic Cycle - Thermals--making flights bumpy and paragliders happy - Official BBQ thumbs-up for the 4th This......

There are two U.S. Opens on the local horizon. The first is the 104th U.S. Open of golf which takes place June 17-20 at Shinnecock Hills in Southampton. As if summer traffic wasn't enough, a golf tournament is also taking place in the Hamptons. You have to admit though, the PGA definitely knows their audience. Can Tiger Woods come out of his "slump" to win another major? Can Phil Mickelson take his Masters victory and......